Soldiers' graves identified 100 years after death

The graves of two Midlands soldiers who died in World War One have been identified more than 100 years after their deaths, bringing comfort to families that until now could not honour them at their resting place.

Capt John Russell Pound, a former teacher at Shrewsbury School, was a member of The King's Shropshire Light Infantry. He died in 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium.

Capt Martin Warren, from Worcester, was just 20 when he died in 1918 near the Somme Canal at Pargny, France.

Both men were interred as unknown soldiers until research identified their graves.

Family members attended re-dedication services for the pair at their respective gravesides in Belgium and France this week.

Capt Pound's great-great nephew Sir Robert Pound said the service on Wednesday ended "generations of uncertainty about his final resting place".

"He was not only a soldier, but a son and a brother whose loss was deeply felt by those who loved him," he added.

Capt Pound was buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC) Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium.

He was a captain in the Shropshire regiment's 3rd Battalion, but attached to the 2nd Battalion for active service on the Western Front.

On 25 April 1915 the company was sent to retake a trench near Zonnebeke, which had been lost by another regiment the day before.

Two days later, the 27-year-old was shot through the head by a sniper and died.

His remains were recovered after the war and buried at Tyne Cot as an unknown Shropshire captain.

His grave was identified after a French CWGC researcher submitted evidence to the organisation, which was later confirmed by further research.

The re-dedications were organised by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the MOD War Detectives.

JCCC case worker Rosie Barron said: "Capt Pound is still remembered with pride by his family and at Shrewsbury School where he was clearly a big part of the community.

"His story has now been concluded, and a 110-year mystery has been solved."

The service for Capt Martin Warren was held at the CWGC Pargny British Ceremony in France on Tuesday.

He was fatally wounded on 24 March 1918 while fighting with 1st Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment.

A wartime letter from a chaplain described him as "the life and soul" of the mess, adding he had been his organist, and "chief helper".

"He was always the first to start sports and games when we were in rest," the letter added. "He was the truest type of Englishman that one can ever wish to meet."

The captain's body was initially buried by German forces, then his remains moved after the war, when he was interred as an unknown captain of the Worcestershire Regiment.

His great-nephew Paul Watkins attended the service and said the family felt "deep pride" in knowing he had been properly laid to rest.

"We are deeply thankful to everyone who has worked so diligently to identify our great uncle's final resting place and trace our family," he added.

CWGC director of commemorations Richard Hills said the re-dedications meant newly engraved headstones could be installed for both men.

"It is important that, wherever possible, every soldier who died is commemorated by name," he said.

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